When partnering with influencers for a social media collaboration, it’s essential to communicate your expectations for the content effectively and on time. This will ensure that the content aligns with both the campaign's objectives and the brand’s values and messaging. This last point is crucial as the influencer acts as a representative of the brand’s voice, so you both need to be on the same page.
One key step to achieve this is to create a campaign brief or document summarizing the campaign and the content guidelines to share with influencers. A brief therefore guarantees that the influencer will have all the necessary information about your campaign and how they need to create the content. This ensures both sides are aligned on expectations, timelines, and deliverables, reducing the need for back-and-forth email exchanges. Additionally, it serves as a safeguard for you if you need to request changes once the content has been submitted.
By using our free influencer brief template, which can be easily adjusted to each brand and campaign, and following the helpful strategic and formatting tips we’ll explore in this article, you’ll become an expert in writing an effective influencer brief!
An influencer brief is a crucial document that summarizes key elements of the campaign such as purpose, product to be promoted, posting dates or expected timeline, and content guidelines like hashtags and links to be included in the posts. Brands should share a brief with influencers who will participate in a campaign prior to posting, to make sure that their content will align with the objectives and their expectations.
Having a brief template is very helpful for brands because or since you can just edit some specific details and personalize them for each campaign, saving a lot of time whenever you need to share a new content brief.
Sharing a brief with influencers before they post will help you in several ways:
The moment you share the brief with the influencer is up to you.
Some brands decide to share it during the first outreach to set expectations from the beginning and reduce email exchanges, while others prefer to share it once an influencer responds showing interest or once they have accepted to join the campaign.
It’s important to understand that in gifting campaigns and affiliate partnerships, brands are not in a very strong position to demand too much from the content, as they are not making fixed payments to influencers. This doesn't mean that you cannot send a brief to the influencer, but the way in which you share and structure it makes a difference.
In this case, we suggest sending the brief once the influencer has been onboarded and you have sent them the product, mentioning it in a subtle way. For example, you can encourage them to review the brief by presenting it as a helpful resource, without making it a requirement: "You can find some posting guidelines or suggestions to help you create your content here!"
Additionally, when sharing a brief for gifting campaigns, try to edit the document and make it as concise as possible, including only essential factors to keep in mind.
The success of an influencer partnership depends largely on the clarity and detail provided in the brief, as this will ensure you receive valuable branded content. The most effective way to write a brief is by using our free influencer brief template, and adjusting it to your brand and campaign. Let’s review the key elements this should include!
The influencer will be speaking on behalf of your brand, so they should get to know you in detail. Provide them with an overview of the company’s mission and values, and what distinguishes you and your products, so they have all the information they need once they start sharing about you. After all, they will be your brand ambassadors!
Include useful links to your website, social media platforms, and any images or creatives to provide a visual of the brand.
Remember to keep it short and personal!
This section is essential to provide context about the campaign, including its objectives. Are you launching a new product or promoting a holiday sale? Additionally, what are your goals: is it brand awareness or do you want to put focus on any particular action such as new packaging? Summarize the reason for the campaign, the product you wish the influencer to promote, and any important details that will guide them through the rest of the brief.
In this section, it’s recommended to include demographic details about your target audience so the influencer understands who you are trying to reach and can tailor the content to their interests and behaviors.
This is the essential section where you clarify all your expectations from their content. Try to make it clear and concise! Guidelines should include the following details:
All marketers are eager to estimate how much an influencer could sell, as ultimately all marketing strategies come down to sales. Our tool will assist you in predicting estimated sales and EMV, according to their previous performance and overall KPI’s.
Specify if influencers should submit their content drafts for you to review and approve before posting. Clarifying this from the beginning will avoid future friction. You could also include the number of revisions allowed per content piece, if considered necessary and depending on the complexity of the content type or your experience with past collaborations.
.png)
It can be helpful to provide a mood board or visual direction so influencers can understand your brand’s aesthetic. You can include images and references from past collaborations that were successful or your key visuals, including color palettes.
Let the influencer know your main KPIs so they understand how the campaign’s success will be measured. This allows them to create content accordingly, aimed at increasing click-through rates, engagement, or conversions. Additionally, establish if they need to report their metrics and how.
This section should include the type of compensation they will receive in exchange for their collaboration. Will it be a fixed payment, affiliate commission, gifted product, or a combination of these? Additionally, clarify the expected payment date (e.g., 30 days after the post) and payment method (e.g., bank transfer, PayPal, etc.). Transparency is key to a successful collaboration and helps avoid potential misunderstandings.
Besides including all the elements listed above on your influencer brief, there are a few more key general rules to keep in mind.
How long should a brief be? This depends on the type of campaign and the complexity of the content you are requesting.. Overall, every brief should be concise, allowing influencers to read it in a maximum of 5 minutes and providing the opportunity to refer back to it whenever necessary. For affiliate and gifting campaigns specifically, as previously mentioned, shorter briefs are suggested.
If you want to provide a one-slide brief, summarize the following points:
While we want to make the guidelines as clear as possible to ensure the content aligns with our expectations, it's essential to understand that influencers are hired for their unique voices and authentic connection with their audiences. Therefore, it's important to show trust and flexibility to build a good relationship with them and allow them to be creative.
Briefs are also a way of introducing your brand to influencers. First impressions are always essential, so they should be attractive and engaging! Try to include images, references of past successful collaborations, and color to highlight important notes. This not only makes the brief visually appealing but also helps influencers better understand your brand identity and style.
Sharing a brief with influencers who will collaborate with your brand has several benefits for both parts involved, as it ensures alignment on expectations and requirements.
By following the tips described in this article, you'll be able to write a concise and effective brief to summarize your campaign’s goals and content guidelines. You’ll also create an effective brief template which you can easily edit for each campaign and even personalize for each creator.
Also, check out other useful templates to manage every step of your influencer marketing campaign, such as influencer outreach templates.
Schedule a Demo with one of our media experts below.
.png)
.png)
